cycling from a woman's perspective

Okay, yeah, I live in California so my cold is nothing like the cold some of you experience. You have my sympathy and my utter admiration. It’s daunting to ride in cold weather. Where I live it’s been in the 20s at night, which is unusual. It warms up to a whopping 30 degrees F by the time I bundle up and leave the house. That’s cold to me!

This time of year you’ll find lots of great advice about what to wear when riding in the winter. But I’d like to share some riding tips if you’re not normally a winter rider and you’re getting gutsy enough to try. Do try – people will either think you’re crazy or freaking awesome! I prefer to think I’m awesome for riding in all weather; your mileage may vary.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned as I’ve grown used to riding in the cold:

Consider going at a slower speed but pedaling at a higher cadence to stay warm. This accomplishes two things: 1) there will be less cold wind resistance freezing your face at a slower speed and 2) the higher cadence keeps the blood flowing through your legs and keeps you warm.

Take an insulated water bottle or a spill-proof insulated coffee mug with you and fill it with warm water. You always need water to help keep you hydrated in cold, dry air, but nobody wants to drink cold water on a cold day! Just a sip of warm water can feel really good when you’re riding in the cold.

As you ride along, clap your hands to keep blood flowing to your fingers. If you’re not comfortable going hands-free for this, clap them whenever you’re stopped at a traffic light. Who cares if you look silly if your fingers are warm? Alternatively, a couple of things I do to keep my fingers toasty is alternately gripping my handlebar grips and flexing my fingers in rapid succession and taking one hand off my handlebars at a time and shaking my whole arm out. You’ll be surprised how much more enjoyable your ride is when your hands are warm.

Keep in mind that if your core is warm your body doesn’t have to “steal” heat from your extremities.

Be careful for water puddles that may have frozen and look out for painted parts of the street – they can get icy and slippery. Also, if you’re on bike paths that have those yellow rubber bumpy strips at intersections, be aware that these can freeze and become very slippery when wet. Wow, I learned that the hard way (literally).

Let a couple of pounds of pressure out of your tires to increase road-to-tire surface area if it’s wet or snowy or icy. Sure, you’ll go slower, but you’ll also ride with more stability.

Be prepared for the brighter sunlight of winter – the sun is at a steeper angle than in the summer and it can suddenly blind you. Go slowly if the sun is in your eyes.

If it’s dreary and cloudy – even if it isn’t raining or snowing – use your lights. Better to be too careful than not careful enough. A lot of motorists don’t expect to see people riding bikes in the winter. Make sure you’re visible.

And when you get done riding in the cold, have a nice huge cup of hot chocolate. You’ve earned it!